RADIO TRANSCRIPTS

107.3 Max FM
Australia
08 October 2004

ISAAC: Oh man, I wish I could say we've been chilling out… we've actually been, since 2000, which was when This Time Around came out, which was the second record, we came down, obviously, to Australia doing promotional stuff in 2000 and then went around the world promoting that record and then in 2001 started writing to making the next record, which is Underneath, which is about to come out now. And during that process wrote a ton of songs, wrote over 80 songs for the record, recorded most of those, and then really felt like, because of the changing industry that we're in because of the situation with a lot of the record companies (consolidation and so on and so forth), felt like this was the perfect opportunity for us to do something different and do something we've wanted to do for a long time, which is start a record company. So we started up 3CG Records, which is the company that we own, have released the record in the United States, which is Underneath, it debuted at #1 on the Independent Sales chart here in the United States and during that time we've also been doing tons of touring and playing unplugged and electric shows all around the US and getting ready to take the unplugged tour down to Australia.

NIC: Fabulous. We look forward to that. I've actually got a copy of Underneath that I managed to get when I was in Canada in May, so yeah, I have to say that I'm very impressed with this current album of yours and it's released here very shortly, so basically anyone can pick up a copy.

ISAAC: October 18th I believe is the release date.

NIC: And "Penny & Me" comes out pretty much right now; you can go into your record store, ask for it, get it, order it in, but you must pick yourself up a copy. Now can you tell me what exactly is "Penny & Me" is about? Who is Penny?

ISAAC: You know, if I had a penny or a dime or a quarter or something for every time I've been asked that question I'd be… well, I guess I'd still be… I don't know. (laughs) No, I just had to make a joke about it cos it is funny how many people have asked that question and the answer to that is it's kind of a lot of things. Penny, the name, actually comes from the song "Penny Lane" and there's a lot of references to different music and different songs and things we've been inspired by over the years. People like Dave Mason, there's a reference to one of his songs, it says "singing along to 'Feeling Alright'," which is a Dave Mason song, "making it by under pink moonlight" and "pink moon" is actually a song and actually an album by a guy named Nick Drake. So there's a lot of different references to music and so on and then of course, just a little personal touch in there. There's definitely some personal experiences and some reminiscent elements but the song is just about how music is always with you, you always have those moments, those memories, and that music that is the soundtrack to your life that just goes with you wherever you go.

NIC: Okay, what's your favorite track off the album?

ISAAC: Oh man, favorite track… gosh. I can name a couple of my favorites. The song "Broken Angel" is definitely one of my favorites. There's just a really mellow, sparse kind of feeling to that song and just kind of the way that it was produced and so on. We really feel like we hit on something that we hadn't hit on with previous records, so that's a song I'm a big fan of. I really just like the rock & roll element of songs like "Lost Without Each Other" or "Get Up & Go," just kind of very in your face pop rock, no holds barred. And then songs like "When You're Gone" and "Strong Enough To Break" are definitely songs that I really like lyrically and also the song "Believe" because I just really feel like they hit on something in an emotional way that a lot of people deal with, such as doubt in themselves and moments of frustration and trying to decide what it is that you are going to do in the face of trouble and stress and so on and that's something everybody deals with and those songs kind of talk about that stuff.

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ISAAC: Dates and places, we will definitely be in Sydney, definitely be in Melbourne, and hopefully a couple other places too. If we don't hit-I really want to go to Brisbane, I really want to go to Adelaide, I'd really like to get a chance to go to Perth for the first time so I'd love to get the chance to hit some of those places but I think we may have to hit those on another more extensive tour that we do maybe sometime early next year or so.

NIC: I was hoping you'd bring that up because there's been a lot of Hanson fans in this country that've wanted you guys to do a full concert tour here for years now. Is there one planned?

ISAAC: You know, we are talking about that right now, we're trying to schedule stuff, and I think once we see how things go when we're doing promotion and so on we'll be able to figure out what the best strategy, what the best plan to come down to Australia is again and where we need to go to play shows, so we'll be talking about it really soon and in the meantime we'll play some unplugged shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

NIC: That sounds fabulous. Now you guys have all cut your hair, you've grown up a lot. Did you consciously have to decide to update your image?

ISAAC: No, I think everybody just does that naturally. I think everybody really goes through different phases in their life no matter who you are, whether you're bands like, you know, The Rolling Stones or bands like, you know, U2 or bands like, I don't know, whoever you're talking about, but various people just constantly are going through changes in their life and in their career and I think that shows as time goes on and I think it's the same with us. You're just going forward with your life making music and things change, you get a new haircut every now and then.

NIC: Alright, now all of your old fans are going to go out and buy a copy of Underneath, obviously, but are you trying to appeal to new fans as well? Do you think they'll accept this?

ISAAC: Well I think the thing about music is that it's not designed for just one group of people. I think music should be able to be seen and heard by a lot of different people and I think this record is no different. I think there's definitely more intimate moments, more kind of acoustic elements in this record. It's the most mellow album we've done so far for sure but it also still has a lot of really kind of positive and then just kind of rock & roll elements to it, just very kind of unabashed energy and I think that it just kind of covers the whole gamut of rock & roll and bands and playing. So I think this record is accessible for a lot of people.

NIC: Okay, now I just have to do ask, do you all still live in the one house in Tulsa or have Taylor and his family moved out, have you guys moved out? What's the housing situation?

ISAAC: The thing about being in a band, we travel all the time so obviously there's a lot of places that we spend a lot of time in. Obviously making this record we spent a lot of time in other places. We did do some recording in our hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma but we also recorded a lot in Los Angeles and mixed in Massachusetts and also did some stuff in New York, so there's been a lot of different traveling. We've been kind of living out of bags as of yet and in a hotel room but also we've had an apartment in New York. We actually just moved out of there, Zac and I moved out of our apartment and Taylor moved out of his and we're just kind of on the road as of yet and trying to decide what the final plans are cos we've got offices in New York because of our record company and so on so we'll see as time goes on but I think you gotta keep your roots and Oklahoma will always be a place that we kind of return to for holidays and to see friends and stuff, cos you gotta keep your roots.

NIC: Definitely, very, very important. Home is where the heart is.

ISAAC: Yes it is, and obviously we're not all living together all the time, no. No, that's not the case.

NIC: Okay, now I just do have to ask, is it possible to get you to sing something, just a little verse off the current album?

ISAAC: Oh wow, that's a really interesting point, an interesting question. Ahh… you know I guess I can, it's a little bit weird to sing it without the guys cos I'm so used to harmonies. There's a song called "Deeper," it goes something like this. (sings a line from "Deeper.") So there you go.

NIC: That was beautiful, I'm a big fan of that song so nice choice.

ISAAC: Oh well thanks very much, we'll get a chance to sing a lot more music when we come down to Australia and see everybody down there and I look forward to an extensive Australian tour.

NIC: I look forward to that, thank you very much for your time Isaac.